Flow Jitsu

When I was asked to review this latest online instructional, I was excited yet apprehensive. The reason behind these mixed emotions were because the guys who developed it have such a massive presence not only in the online world but also in my personal collection of tutorials of stuff that looks awesome but has always been in my “I am too big to incorporate that into my game” pile, nonetheless this was an opportunity I was not going to let pass me by.

In the introduction of the tutorial we are greeted by a brief scene of Nic and Mike rolling and flowing effortlessly and my fears were re assured. I am a 6’1 96kg male whose body is still trying to understand the meaning behind the word controlled flow. As if Nic was reading my mind he then re assures you and I that he too was a little apprehensive when he began working with Mike because of his size and different body composition. Mike then comforts both the viewer and Nic by confirming that this tutorial is full of versatile techniques that can be utilised by any one, any size and any skill level and most importantly they can be introduced into your game TODAY.

Mike explains that everything that is in the tutorial will chain together some way or another assisting the viewer to be able to identify many moments throughout a roll to take advantage of and rather than meet resistance with resistance take the opportunity and remain in the flow. True to his word everything that was shown had various entries into the next position and the way that Mike explains in detail yet with such simplicity makes this a really easy to understand instructional. I am predominantly a GI based practitioner however due to certain influences I am slowly coming over to train a little more in No GI, so the way Mike shows the variants between the two was extremely helpful.

Throughout the video Mike will cut to a new scene if there is a newer technique that maybe hasn’t been seen prior or may have several key details that need to be reiterated and explains once again in great detail yet in simple to understand terms, the other thing I like about this is that Mike will also demonstrate what you would do if you were on the receiving end of this movement. Not only does he go into depth with the new, but he continues to re affirm things that even the newest BJJ practitioner should know such as basic positioning when in the mount position. Unlike the other tutorials I have seen online Mike continuously delivers highly detailed instructions ensuring nothing is left out no matter how small it may seem.

One thing I particularly like about Mike`s game is his angles and momentum after all that’s what BJJ is about, one thing that I never thought would be possible was that someone of my body make up would be able to move with such freedom and fluidity. Mike shows in this video that it is possible to override a lack of flexibility with the use of angles, for bigger practitioners the use of momentum and body weight combined with angles we are re assured you too CAN flow.

One of the first encounters I had with Mike was in a 5 minute tutorial on YouTube showing his Ninja Choke and its variants, from there I went on to view many different lapel attacks and have tried to incorporate various into my own game, Mike makes the Lapel choke look so very easy,sneaky and effective , and it was excellent to see the Ninja Choke show up in this tutorial. I must admit I did have a chuckle to myself on the plane when watching this the first time at how happy Mikes uke Chris looked throughout the Lapel choke module featured in Flow Jitsu. I watched this while I was on a flight and could not wait to hit the mats and give these techniques a go. Much to my surprise they worked in theory and I look forward to refining them and including them in my growing game.

All in all this is a brilliant project from both The BJJ Brotherhood and BJJ Over 40, I look forward to seeing many more collaborations between Nic and Mike in the future. Being somewhat of a Jiu Jitsu nerd, I would of loved to have seen more footage of both Nic and Mike rolling in a constant state of flow. Over all I give this video a 4 out of 5. (Would of got 5/5 if there was more flow footage between Mr Gregoriades and Mr Bidwell).

If you are interested in purchasing a copy download yours at the following link.